Ghostbusters: Rookies
by kilnorc
Summary: A new team of Ghostbusters steps in while the originals retire after years of service. These rookies are going to have to experience spooky spectres and all kinds of paranormal problems if they're serious about the job. Who ya gonna call?
1. Prologue

**Ghostbusters: Rookies**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ghostbusters.**

**Kilnorc: Alright, this will be a unique fanfiction for me to write. Why? Well, I never really DID a GB fic...well, I DID but that was a "bust" (rimshot), so I'm remaking it with help from various friends who give some plot ideas, some give OC's and others give anything they can to help out, all of which I'm very grateful for.**

**Notes about the fic: I'll be mixing a lot of various Ghostbusters elements into this. It will have elements from the films, the recent video game (meaning new combo packs!), and references to the Real Ghostbusters cartoon series, as well as the manga. It's a challenge, but I like challenges, so here goes!**

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* * *

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**Prologue**

**2009**

When people think of a museum, they usually think of ancient fossils collecting dust behind a glass window, or a very fragile document preserved ever so carefully in a case, or multiple, boring exhibits that focus on things from history. That's what they usually think of, anyway...

Most people don't think that anything really cool would be in a museum, and even though some people enjoy seeing dinosaur skeletons or artifacts from an old war, that usually doesn't bring in the masses. However, a soon-to-be exhibit would attract just about everyone in New York City.

Late one night, two security guards were making their rounds when they came across the future home of the coming exhibit, chatting amongst themselves about it.

"So, are they actually going into retirement, Mike? I mean, with that new exhibit coming out soon, and what's going to be in it, you'd think-,"

"I'm not sure, Tony, I've been hearing rumors about that for a few months now, so I can't be sure. Still, I can honestly say I won't be surprised if they do. They're getting too old for the job, they're past their prime,"

"Yeah...still, it'd be a shame if they do. They're _legends_!"

"Even legends have an ending, pal. Hey, check it out,"

Tony Sullivan and Michael Treadwell, "security guards extraordinare", came to a halt just outside a large room in one of the many halls of the large building, their flashlights casting beams of light into said room.

"C'mon, let's check it out,"

"I dunno, Tony," Mike looked around the hallway, "We're supposed to be doing our rounds right now. Why don't we just finish that stuff up, then come back?"

"Aw, what's the matter, Mikey?" Tony lightly punched his friend in the shoulder, "Scared?"

"No-,"

"You shouldn't be!" Tony cut him off, taking a few steps into the exhibit hall, "They wouldn't put anything in here if it wasn't safe to be put in public,"

"Hey, that's what they thought back in '91 when that Gozer exhibit opened up," Mike said defensively, "They said-,"

"They said that a bunch of crap exploded and people got possessed by ghosts," Tony finished for him in a bored tone, "Mikey, Mikey, Mikey," he raised his flashlight to his face, giving him an eerie look, "That's just a story to tell the rookie rent-a-cops here. I heard the same thing a few years ago when I started,"

"And you never get creeped out working the graveyard shift?!" Mike hissed, immediately regretting he used that particular term for the night shift, "Look, I'm just saying we should do our job before we goof off,"

"And I'm just saying that we should check this out when we can!" Tony insisted, "Look, when this officially opens up, it's gonna be packed all the time, we're not gonna have much of a chance to see it in private!" he bounced a little in place, clearly excited about the idea, "I know that it still needs some stuff before it's actually done, but still!"

"...I dunno...,"

"Look, if we get caught, we can just make up some excuse like...," he shook his head slightly, "I dunno, we could make up a lie about seeing someone in here and we were doing our job as New York's finest and went looking for 'em,"

Reluctantly, Mike followed his partner into the upcoming exhibit hall and the two of them began to take a sneak peek before the masses. The coming attraction would be a salute as well as a history to the Ghostbusters, who had appeared and began their work as supernatural saviors of New York just 25 years ago.

There were large photographs from their careers covering the wall, whether they were from the covers of magazines or newspapers, and there were even very familiar pieces of equipment, such as their proton packs and the large tanks that once shot slime oh so many years ago. There was also a very large, empty space in the middle of the hall, reserved for something big.

"I heard they're gonna put their car right here," Tony pointed to the space, grinning like a kid, "Man, this is gonna be great!"

"Hey, Tony, lemme ask you something,"

"What is it, Mikey?"

Mike approached the encased equipment and tapped on the glass, "Why the hell would they put these here? I mean, aren't they dangerous? Besides, if these are here, what are they gonna bust ghosts with?"

Tony shrugged, "I dunno, you'd figure they'd keep those on hand for sentimental reasons or something,"

"But still, they're dangerous...ain't they?"

"Nah," Tony shook his head as he walked over to join his friend, "They're all safe now. Those big things got cleaned out and those pack things got their power sources taken out or something," he shrugged again, "Listen, like I said before, they wouldn't put anything dangerous in here, so they must be safe,"

"...so, they're not keeping these to work?"

"I doubt it. I've seen what they got now, they got these new suckers that can shoot the same things, but can also shoot out slime crap," Tony jerked a thumb to the larger pieces of equipment in the cases nearby, "That's probably why those are here, too,"

As the two security guards continued their sneak peak of the Ghostbusters exhibit, a loud noise made the two of them nearly jump out of their skins. They spun around, their flashlights going back and forth like crazy.

"What the hell was that?" Tony hissed.

Mikey shook his head, "I dunno, man, but I told you I didn't like this...I _told_ you!"

"Oh, shut up, you ass!" Tony snapped, pulling out his walkie-talkie, "Yo, anyone in the office right now?"

The comm device crackled before another voice came over, "Yeah, I'm here, Tony. What's up?"

"Mikey and I are in the Ghostbusters room. Listen, we just heard something and we can't see anything, is there anything on the monitors?"

"Uh...lemme check," the comm crackled again, "If you guys are pulling a joke, I'm gonna put you both on overtime with no pay...,"

"I'm serious, Goddammit, we heard_ something_!"

"Alright, alright. Jesus, keep your panties on,"

Another crash, closer this time.

"Tony, we might wanna get the hell outta here," Mike urged, tugging on Tony's sleeve, "C'mon!"

Tony shrugged him off, "We can't! What if it's a thief?! It's our job to take care of people like that!"

Mike looked at him like he was crazy, "What if it isn't? What if it's something else?!"

"Like what, a ghost?"

His partner opened his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words for a couple of moments, "...it's a distinct possibility! We should just go, check stuff out in the safety of the security office and depending on what we see on the monitors, we can either call the cops or we can call the Ghostbusters!"

Tony was just about to curse his partner out when his walkie-talkie crackled to life. Glaring at Mike, he pressed the call button, "Yeah, what's up?"

"You two are in the Ghostbusters room?"

"Yeah, why what's up?"

"Well, I just saw something on the monitor...I have no idea what the hell it is, I've never seen anything like it before, and whatever it is, it's heading your way. Right now!"

Mike held up his hands and quickly made his way to the exit, "That's it, I'm outta here! I am getting the hell out of here, and I'm calling the Ghostbusters, I don't care if you gonna come with or if you're gonna stay, Tony, but I'm getting out of here right now!"

Before either one of them could even step one foot out of the exhibit room, something appeared before the both of them, causing them to stop in their tracks. The entity that stood, or rather, floated before them gave off an eerie glow that seemed to light up the archway that connected the room with the hall next to it.

"Holy...crap...," Tony stared, his eyes going wide as saucers, "What the _hell_ is _that_?"

Mike gulped loudly as he backed away slowly, "What the hell do you think it is, Tony?! I told you we should have just left and called for help, but you wanted to stay and check the place out...,"

"Alright, I get it, I get it!" Tony hissed, "Don't rub it in!" he looked fearfully at the spirit that was now slowly moving towards them, "Aw man, I hate this. What the hell do we do now?"

"Personally, I vote for screaming and running in terror...how about you?"

"I could go for that,"

Good thing the two of them were up for such a fear-induced, yet natural reaction, because a few seconds after the two of them decided on that plan, the entity let out an inhuman scream and flew right at them.

Meanwhile, in the security office, watching the whole incident on video screen, the head of night security, a man by the name of Max Thompson grimaced at what he saw. Muttering under his breath and grabbed the phone nearby, pressing one of the buttons on the speed dial.

"Hello, Ghostbusters?"

* * *

**Kilnorc: Here's the first chapter of my remake of my GB fic. Hope it's a good start, I feel it's got a "Ghostbuster movie start" kinda feel around it...and I KINDA got the idea from the recent video game, lol. More to come, folks!**


	2. Too Old For This

**Too Old For This**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ghostbusters.**

* * *

When Janine Melnitz was picking up her belongings from behind her desk Friday night, she was hoping, no she was _praying_ that she would get out of the firehouse before any calls could come through on the phone line. She was praying that she could just walk out of the firehouse and if any of the guys received a call, they would pry themselves off their beds upstairs and shuffle down or even slide down the well-used poles to answer the phone.

So much for praying.

The fifty-one year old secretary cursed under her breath as the phone rang as loud as ever. She sighed and placed her bag on top of her desk, "There goes the start of my weekend," she murmured, picking up the phone, "Ghostbusters, how may I help you?"

Janine listened to the other end of the line and reached for a note pad and pencil, "Uh huh...uh huh...uh huh...," she paused, "Can they give a description of the ghost? No? Okay, well are they coherent?" she waited a few more moments before thanking the caller and hanging up, "Last call for me tonight, boys," she said to herself just before she slammed her hand on the alarm button on the edge of her desk.

* * *

"Man, so much for a free night," Ray Stantz said with a tired yawn as he drove the Ecto-1a through the streets of New York, heading for the National History Museum, "Spengs, you got the details on this one, I didn't have a chance to look at them?"

Egon Spengler adjusted his glasses and looked at the worksheet Janine had provided them with before she took off for the evening, "Not much I can tell. From what Janine wrote down, two security guards at the museum had an experience with a ghost in that new exhibit they're doing for us. Right now, they're all waiting for us in the security office at the museum, keeping an eye on the monitors as well as keeping an eye on the victims,"

"Did the guards get a good look at what attacked them?" Winston Zeddmore asked, propping an arm on the back of the seat, "Or did they just block all that out when they crapped themselves?"

Ray grinned a little bit.

"If they did, Janine didn't write it down," Egon said with a shrug as he pulled out his P.K.E. Meter, testing it for the night, "We'll have to interview them and the rest of the museum staff when we arrive,"

Winston nodded, "Alright, cool. You know, that museum's a hot spot for weird stuff, did you guys notice? I mean," he held up a finger, "The Gozer Exhibit back in '91 and now this with an exhibit about us?"

Egon looked over his shoulder at his friend and teammate, "You forget, Winston, the museum, as well as a few other certain places in this city, had some work done on it at various times by a certain evil architect,"

"Ah, right, Shandor," Winston nodded again, this time remembering what Egon was talking about, "But we took care of all that, years ago! Why would that place be messed with now?"

"Well, Z, if you think about it, it just might be our fault," Ray said casually as he turned a corner, "We did a lot of work for this city over the years and I'm sure that there's still some nasty things out there who want to take out their anger on us for getting rid of their ghost buddies. Maybe whatever attacked the guards didn't want them, but they wanted at the exhibit,"

"That would make sense, Ray," Egon agreed almost immediately, "All our original gear from when we started out as Ghostbusters are there and even though we made sure they'd be safe for the public, I'm sure they're seen as symbols of dread amongst the dead-,"

"Hey, that rhymed!" Ray interjected briefly.

"...anyway, even if they're safe, there's a probable chance that they're teeming with energy. If any ghosts aren't attracted to the exhibit out of hate for us, then they'd be attracted due to the large amount of energy emanating from our old proton packs,"

Winston looked at his two friends for a moment, "Is anyone else regretting we gave our stuff away right about now?"

Ray and Egon exchanged looks.

* * *

When the three of them arrived at the museum, Egon and Winston decided to check out the exhibit while Ray began to interview the staff about what had happened earlier that night. As Ray entered the security office, he saw the two guards that had the experience right away, they were the ones who were not only covered in ectoplasm, but they also looked like people who had just seen a ghost. Ray laughed quietly to himself when he thought of that saying and approached the head of security.

"Officer...?"

"Thompson, Max Thompson," the head shook Ray's hand, "Glad you guys showed up,"

"I bet," Ray looked at the two guards nearby, "How are they?"

"Pretty shook up, they never saw a ghost before,"

Ray nodded, "I don't blame them for freaking out. First ghost I ever ran into changed from an old woman to an ugly mother and the next thing I know, my friends and I are running out the front doors," Ray cleared his throat, "Anyway, what can you tell me about the incident, Mister Thompson?"

Max sighed and held his head, "I can't tell you much, I'm afraid. I get a call over the walkie-talkie from those guys," he jerked a thumb to the two unfortunate guards nearby, "They said they heard something, so I checked the monitors, I'll show you the footage here in a little bit, but when I looked on the screens, I saw...something, heading right for them! I warned them, but they didn't make it out in time. That's why they're like that now,"

"Can you show me the video footage please, it'd help me identify just what attacked your men tonight?"

"Right over here,"

-Meanwhile, in the exhibit-

"Hey, Egon, why isn't Peter here with us?"

Egon swept the P.K.E. Meter around the room, reading the various signals the room was giving him, "He's with Dana and Oscar for a few days, remember? Apparently, Oscar's looking for a decent major at his college and he asked for his dad to help him out,"

Winston looked up from the wrecked debris he was investigating, a skeptical look on his face, "The kid's asking Venkman for help in school?"

"I know, it astounds me, too," Egon shook his head, "Personally, I think he should've come to Ray or myself for all that, but Peter _is_ his father...well, _step_-father," he corrected himself, "He's got a family, Winston, we all knew that he wouldn't come into work all the time,"

"Yeah, but still...," Winston looked around the mess, "Hey, Spengs, lemme ask you something,"

"What is it, Winston?"

"We're all what? In our mid-fifties?"

"Mhm,"

"Do you think we're still gonna be doing all this?"

Egon frowned a little and lowered his instrument, giving Winston an odd look, "How do you mean?"

Winston walked up to him, a serious look on his face, "You know what I mean, Egon. We're all getting into our golden years here, all of our hair is turning gray...okay, so Pete keeps dying his hair, but you get what I mean. I know we love our job and we love doing it for the city, but we have to be realistic here,"

"...you mean, hang 'em up?"

"I hate to say it, but yeah,"

"How long have you been thinking about this, Winston?"

His friend shrugged slightly, "Awhile now. Look at the facts here: we're getting older, which means that we're getting slower, and don't you dare deny it! We're also getting a lot more sore and tired out from half the work...," Winston shook his head, "Too much, man, too much,"

Egon seemed to think about it for a few moments, but before he could give any thoughts, his own walkie-talkie crackled to life. He reached over and pressed the device that was strapped on his shoulder, "We're here, Ray, go ahead,"

"You and Zeddmore find anything?"

Egon glanced at Winston before lifting his P.K.E. Meter again, "That's affirmative, Raymond. This room is hot,"

"How hot?"

"Judging from these readings, I'd say we're dealing with a Class 4 or a Class 5 at most. The readings from the ectoplasm are familiar, but I can't quite place it. What about you, you get anything on your end?"

"Besides the nonsensical babblings from two security guards who were scared shitless, I don't have much. Officer Thompson is just showing me video footage from the security cameras and...," Ray trailed off.

Egon looked at Winston and pressed the call button on his walkie-talkie, "Come again, Ray? I didn't catch that,"

The device crackled and the next thing the guys heard was Ray sighing loudly.

"What's wrong, Ray?"

"I found out why our equipment and our exhibit got attacked, I know why the readings are familiar, and I know what attacked the guards,"

Egon's eyebrows went upward in surprise, "Oh really, Ray? That's good! Give us what you know,"

"Uh, well...you guys may want to come to the office and see this for yourselves,"

-Little bit later...-

"Aw hell no! Are you serious?!"

"Well, that explains why our stuff got attacked...,"

Ray nodded slowly, "Yep,"

The three Ghostbusters stood in front of the collection of TV monitors, watching the footage from earlier that night. On one of the video screens, they watched the two guards talk amongst themselves and in a handful of other monitors, they watched as an all too-familiar spook float quickly down the corridors, running into and knocking numerous objects and piece of history before coming to a stop outside their exhibit, just staring at the two guards. They watched in silence as it ran right at them, then right through them, covering them both in a fine layer of slime before going about the exhibit itself, tearing and sliming it up.

There, on the screen, was the culprit.

Slimer.

The Class 5 specter the Ghostbusters first ran into twenty-five years ago at the Sedgewick Hotel was responsible for tearing up the exhibit and scaring the crap out of the unfortunate rent-a-cops. Now, the team had dealt with Slimer's antics in the past, but that was usually involved food or going back to the hotel. This was a first for both sides.

"What the hell is Slimer doing here at the _museum_?" Winston demanded, staring at the video monitor, "There's not a piece of food within the entire building!"

Egon held up a hand, "I think I can answer that," he said, his voice lowered, so the general public in the room couldn't hear, "Slimer's known us for years, he was our first case of Ghostbusting. He's also had his share of help when we fought Vigo and he also had some stuff with us back during that Thanksgiving problem,"

"I ain't really followin', Egon,"

"It's simple. Given his history with us, negative or positive, he's been around us and our equipment for years. Maybe, he was attracted to the left over pyscho-kinetic energy that's surrounding our equipment. With him loose, he's always gone to places filled with food, and then he usually heads back to the Sedgewick, that's a special place for him. I'm guessing that he was on his way back to the hotel when he felt the energy on our proton packs and was drawn to it, which resulted in not only destruction of museum property, but the attack on the guards,"

Ray nodded, "Problem is, he's still loose and from what I can tell, nowhere in the building,"

"Guess he's headed for the hotel,"

"That's a very good possibility,"

Ray looked back at the workers behind them, then turned back to his partners, "What uh...do we do about this?"

Egon smiled and held up a finger, "I have an idea,"

* * *

Ray, Winston and Egon opened the doors to Ecto-1a and took a seat in the large car, not speaking to each other. The three Ghostbusters sat there for a few moments, not saying a single word. After what seemed like an eternity, Winston turned around in his seat and looked at Egon, "What the hell kind of idea was that?"

Egon reached over and started the car, the sirens soon filling the night air, "It worked, didn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but-,"

"I think what Z's trying to say is," Ray said slowly, "An idea usually consists of telling someone something, or doing something,"

"That's what I did,"

Winston rolled his eyes, "Egon, the way you said 'I have an idea' I thought you were gonna say a lie or something to get us out of trouble with Slimer being there, I didn't expect you to go right out and say something else!"

"I'm an honest guy, what do you expect?" Egon asked his friend as he pulled out into the road, pressing on the gas pedal once they were in the clear, "I only said the facts: the ghost was merely passing through, and since he was gone, he wouldn't be coming back because this isn't a certain special place for him,"

"Egon, our proton packs and the rest of our gear is on display here!" Winston pointed out, "You said yourself that he's attracted to the energy that's surrounding it, whose to say that he won't come back? Hell! Who's to say another ghost won't be coming through here?"

"I highly doubt it,"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because if any other ghosts want to come and wreck our stuff, they'd most likely come and raid the firehouse," Egon reasoned, "It's simple,"

Winston merely rolled his eyes and sat down, "If you say so...,"

"Well, waddya wanna do guys?" Ray let out a long yawn, "I'm beat, but Slimer's probably gonna show up anytime now?"

Egon glanced at Winston in the rearview mirror, who looked back at him, then cleared his throat, "Ray, can we talk?"

* * *

**Kilnorc: Alright, I think that's good for now...hope I'm sticking true to the series, I'm still technically a newbie to this writing, haha. Hope ya'll liked it! I AM aware that sometimes, Winston's last name is spelled with an E after the two D's but sometiems it's NOT in various incarnations, so die-hard fans, don't give me any crap.  
**


	3. Press Release

**Press Release  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ghostbusters.**

* * *

When Egon and Winston told both Ray and Janine about retiring, the other two were surprised to hear them talk about doing something like this. Janine, although she was surprised, she didn't exactly hide a bit of relief when she heard the possible news. While she was talking on and on to herself about what she was going to do after the guys retired, the guys went upstairs to talk privately about the possible end to their long-time careers.

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure I can do anything besides Ghostbusting," Ray said slowly, sitting down onto his cot, "We've been doing it for so long, I'm not sure about anything else,"

"Hey, you're not the only one, man," Winston said quickly, "But do you really see yourself catching ghosts when you're eighty? I mean, just imagine it, Ray: one day, you're on a case, then right after you close the trap, you could fall over dead! I've heard about dying doing what you love, but c'mon Ray...,"

Ray sighed and ran a hand through his graying hair, "Well, you're right about that, Z. I'd hate to drop dead on the job and end up being what we catch and end up being caught...," he shook his head, "But really, what else can we do? What else can I do?"

Egon rubbed his chin in thought, "Well, you and I do have degrees, Raymond, perhaps you and I could both start teaching again? Think about it, Ray, we could teach what we know about the paranormal sciences to the newer generations. Ever since we started our business, we've had plenty of fans and I'm sure out of a lot of those fans, many of them want to study the fields of the paranormal: Occultism, religions and mythologies that revolve around ancient cultures...quite frankly, the possibilities are endless,"

"So, we pretty much go back to doing what we did before we became Ghostbusters?"

"Well...yeah," Egon admitted with a short nod before turning to Winston, "What about you, Winston? Didn't you mention that you worked on a doctorate before?"

"Ah, I dunno about teaching, Spengs," Winston shook his head, "I am good with my hands though, I might just open up a garage or something, or just fix some junkers,"

The room was quiet for a short time.

Ray coughed lightly, "There's about...two or three other problems here," he held up a finger, "How are we gonna tell Venkman about this, and who is gonna do it? Who's gonna catch ghosts if we don't? Finally, what about Janine?"

Winston grinned and nudged Egon in the ribs, "Yeah, Egon, what about Janine?"

The Ghostbuster silently removed his glasses and wiped them, although they didn't really need it.

* * *

Telling Peter about possible retirement actually went easier than either one of them thought it would be. Although, there was some tension in his happy little family when the news came to them. Peter thought it was a good idea because they were quote "getting too damn old for this crap". Needless to say, that response surprised even Egon and Ray, since he was the final founder of the company. When they talked to Peter in his large apartment, they found out two more reasons why Peter thought it was good for them to hang up their packs.

Dana and Oscar.

The gang knew that over time, although he had separated from Dana Barrett more than once and saw other women, that Peter loved Dana more than any other woman and he even thought of Oscar as his own flesh and blood. He told the gang that Dana had been worried sick about him everytime he went out on a job, worried that he'd be killed, or possessed, or even sent off to another dimension. She was also worried that their family would again be plagued by forces of the supernatural. The guys couldn't blame her for worrying, considering that she was once possessed by a minion of a Sumerian God and that Oscar was not only kidnapped, but almost possessed by Vigo the Carpathian when he was a mere baby. Truth be told, Dana had been wanting to leave New York for years, but she stayed because of Peter and lived everyday in fear because of it. When she heard the guys talking about retiring, she pulled Peter into the other room and the guys could hear them talking it over.

"Peter, you know I love you and so does Oscar, you're the best thing that ever happened to us, and we admire what you do for the city, but you said so yourself, you're getting too old for this,"

"I know, Dana, I _know_,"

"If you do this, we can move to another town, one where there aren't any ghosts or gods...at least, not everyday. Even if the town has a supposedly haunted building, I'll be happy with it! I just want us to be at a safer place than New York, given our history with it. Most people want to move out of a big city because of pollution or a crime rate, but not many people want to move because of ghosts,"

"Yeah, you're right, Dana," Peter sighed, "Where would we go, though?"

"I don't know...maybe somewhere in the mountains? Those are usually peaceful and really beautiful places to live? Look, don't worry about that, you just go and talk to the guys, okay?"

When Peter came back to the room, Ray brought up another interesting point.

Who was going to take over the business?

Peter thought for a moment, "What about that rookie we trained years ago? You know, when Shandor reared his ugly face?"

"Oh yeah," Ray nodded, remembering the new blood, "Wait, isn't he off in one of our offices across the country?"

"Damn, forgot about that. Wait, about Ed and his buddies over in Denver?"

"Busy with their own things, we can't ask them to leave their post and come here, that'd leave _that_ city defenseless,"

Peter snapped his fingers, "Ah well, that's out the window. Anyone else have any bright ideas?"

Winston raised his hand slightly, "Why not just tell the press and take out ads?" he offered, "Hell, you guys put out an ad in the newpaper and I joined up, remember?"

"Alright, say we do that, but what then?" Peter shot back, "Say we do get some more rookies to take up the packs. If we're all going to be doing something else, who is going to train them so they don't end up blowing the city to Hell and back?"

Egon reared his head back and scratched his neck, "Well, Peter, I told Ray that if we go through with this, he and I could take up teaching jobs at the University again-,"

"We got fired the last time, remember?" Venkman interrupted him.

"Yes, but people are more open-minded nowadays," Egon countered, "If we _do_ retire and if we _do_ teach at the University again, he and I will be in the city and we could train the new team as well as help them out if we can. You know, research, containment, the whole enchilada,"

Peter stared at his long time friend, "...did _you_ just say 'the whole enchilada', Egon?"

Egon gave him a look before clearing his throat.

The four aging Ghostbusters looked at one another for a long time, remembering everything they had done for the city and the world over the years. They fought gods, they fought sorcerors, mythical beasts, demons, spirits of all kinds...they had done a lot over the 25 years they were in business. Peter took a long drink from his beer can, stopping when another thought reached his brain.

"What about the Ecto-1a?"

"Well, we can either let the museum have that indefinitely as part of the exhibit, or we can see if it'll run alright with the new blood," Ray said with a shrug, "There's still a lot of possibilities we'd have to cover, but the one major thing we have to answer is this: are we really, really, _really_ gonna quit being Ghostbusters?"

Again, the four friends looked at one another in silence.

* * *

It took them all weekend to think, debate and finally decide, but by Monday morning, it was final.

The supernatural saviors of New York were stepping down.

When they called the Mayor to tell him the news, they had requested to hold a press conference as soon as possible. So, by 8:00 p.m. Monday night, their biggest announcement was about to be heard by millions of New York citizens.

"I'm telling you, they're going to be pissed," Ray said nervously, wringing his hands together, "Really, really pissed!"

Peter gave a small yawn, "Ray, when people got covered in marshmallow, did they get pissed? When we blew the top of Dana's apartment building to kingdom come, did they get pissed?"

"...we got sued and went out of business, remember?"

"Oh right...," Peter murmured quietly, rubbing his head, "Damn, I really am getting too old," he admitted with a slight grin, "Well, did they get pissed when Lady Liberty came marching down the street?"

"I'm pretty sure people were pissed that she had to be moved back all the way to Liberty Island, then have the remaining mood slime cleaned out of her," Winston pointed out, "Not to mention that one cop cruiser that Ray crushed on the way to the museum,"

"So, we're all agreed?" Peter held up his hand, "Every major thing that got people pissed at us throughout our careers was Ray's fault?"

Ray gave him a glare, "It wasn't _always_ my fault!" he said defensively.

"Says the man who gave Gozer his Destructor form with the body of a hundred foot marshmallow man,"

"Are you guys _ever_ gonna let me live _that_ down?"

"Well, that and the time we had you wear those women's clothing that was taking over the mind's of New York's hottest fashion goers," Peter grinned, fondly remembering their incident with Heel, Sumerian God of Deception and Gozer's favored concubine, "You were _so_ cute!"

Ray gave him another glare. He knew Peter was only messing with him, as friends did to each other now and then, but he really hated being reminded of certain events throughout their career. Luckily, the thought of smacking Peter upside the head a few times went away when one of the Mayor's aides came and told them it was time for them to make their announcement. It was unlucky, however, for Ray because he had drawn the short straw and was now going to have to give New York the big and bad news.

"I hope they don't try and kill me for this...,"

"Don't worry, Ray, if they didn't kill you for the Stay Puft incident, you're safe," Peter assured him, patting him on the back.

"Oh will you just stop that?" Ray snapped, "It was 25 years ago!"

"And yet, still so fresh in my mind," Peter urged him forward to the podium, "Go get 'em, Mister Hot Stuff!"

Ray gulped quietly and approached the podium, looking out at the huge crowd of reporters and TV news crews that swarmed City Hall. He tapped the closest microphone in front of him and cleared his throat, "Is this thing on? Hello, testing?" a loud whine was heard a few seconds later, making more than a few people wince, "Sorry! Sorry. Uhm, I suppose you all are wondering why we called this press conference with the help of Mayor Wallace tonight. The truth is...," Ray quickly scanned the audience, then looked back at his friends (who were hiding off screen) and saw them urge him on with nods of encouragement. He turned back to the audience and took a deep breath, "Ladies and Gentlemen of New York, you all know me and my friends. For 25 years, the Ghostbusters have served as your paranormal investigators and eliminators. We have apprehended poltergeists, we have taken down our fair share of really nasty spooks and then some," he tapped the podium nervously, "Recently, my colleagues and I have thought about something, something that would change everything...for everyone,"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"As of this morning, it was decided: we, the Ghostbusters, are retiring,"

Almost instantly, an explosion of questions and flashing lights from cameras assaulted Doctor Stantz. As soon as he had even the smallest window of opportunity to continue, he took it.

"Please, everyone, settle down!" he pleaded, hoping to get some more time to explain, "I have more to say! Yes, my colleagues and I are retiring, but that doesn't mean there won't be anymore Ghostbusters! We will be willing to train anyone who is interested in taking our places so that they can take up the mantle of Ghostbusters. Please note, that this isn't a job for just anyone, if anyone would like to apply for the job, they have to take into careful consideration about what they'll have to go through. To put it bluntly, those who want to take our jobs will have to face rough work hours, deal with negative reaction to those they help or those who hate the company in general and will have to face some pretty scary shit almost every single day,"

Off screen, Peter turned to his friends, "Are you allowed to say shit on live TV?"

"I don't think that matters, Venkman,"

"Well, yeah now, but I can't help but wonder...,"

More and more questions came flying at Ray, but luckily for him, Mayor Wallace gently took him off the podium and stepped in his place, relieving the stressed out Ghostbuster who was now making a bee-line for his friends. As soon as he was off screen, Doctor Stantz let out a huge sigh of relief, "Well, that was better than I expected. What did you guys think?"

Egon looked back at the clamoring group of reporters who were firing question after question at the mayor, "I think it went rather well,"

"The news is out, gentlemen," Peter flexed his fingers a little, "Just a couple little things left to do before we can go off and enjoy our golden years,"

The others nodded in agreement, knowing just exactly what those two things were.

Interviewing their replacements and training them so they wouldn't blow New York to Hell or some other dimension.

"Well, this should a _blast_...,"

* * *

**Kilnorc: Okay, I think I'll end the chapter there. Next up is applicants and the interviews! Haha! BTW, I made some major references to the new video game, as well as the GB manga (great read!) so if anyone's thinking that "Heel, Sumerian God of Deception" isn't in Ghostbusters, go read a copy of that manga, you'll agree with me on this. Oh, and the thing about a guy called Ed and his "buddies" that's a nod to BraxtanFilms fanflicks "Freddy vs the Ghostbusters" and "Return of the Ghostbusters" which has a new team located in Denver, Colorado and is led by Ed Spengler, nephew to Egon. Thought since I was reffing other things, why not the fanstuff?  
**


	4. Interviewing the Applicants

**Interviewing the Applicants**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ghostbusters.  
**

* * *

The news spread like wildfire.

The Ghostbusters retiring and taking applications for people to replace them? Needless to say their doorstep was completely covered with boxes, letters, packages, everything and anything relating to the company. Some people sent farewell and thank you combo gifts, other people left farewells that weren't exactly heartfelt, some others were letters begging them not to leave and the rest were applications for the new openings in the company.

"Well," Peter popped a brownie from a farewell package into his mouth as he looked at the growing pile of applications, "Who knew so many people wanted the job?"

Egon fanned a few applications outward, looking over them carefully, "I'm as surprised as you are, Venkman, but we can't hire them all,"

"I know, that's way too much paperwork and way too many paychecks!"

Spengler gave his friend a brief look, "Peter, could you stop eating our gifts and help us out here?"

"I would, but I'm taste-testing these so-called gifts," Peter turned away, stuffing another brownie in his mouth, "Who knows, they might be poisoned!"

"Yeah, like you're one for making sure stuff is safe," Ray shook his head a little, "If the little Spud was here, he'd be able to do that for you,"

"Speaking of the little green blob, what are we gonna do about him?" Peter inquired, "I mean, it's been almost a week since you saw anything from him and we haven't gotten a call about him yet?"

"I'm afraid until someone reports a fat blob of green ectoplasm gorging himself on food and drink, there's not much else we can do," Ray replied, "I'm surprised we haven't gotten any calls from the Sedgewick Hotel though, that's usually where he goes once he's out of our hands,"

"We don't need to worry about Slimer, he's practically harmless," Egon waved another batch of applications in the air, "We need to worry about who we're going to hire and train,"

"Isn't there any promising candidates, Spengs?"

"Sadly, no," Egon sighed, "Half of these are joke applications. See, this one says that a man named Ben Dover wants to join the company!"

"What about the other half?" Ray asked, looking over his batch, "They can't all be as bad as those?"

Egon shook his head, "No, but almost. Half of the total applications are pranks and most of the remaining ones are ones we shouldn't even _consider_ hiring,"

"Why the hell not?" Peter swiped one of his files and looked through it, "I don't see _anything_ in here that says we can't hire someone-,"

"A lot of these people have bad criminal histories, Venkman," Egon cut him off, "Do you _really_ want to be the one responsible for giving a convicted felon a device that could very well destroy half the city?"

"...okay, point taken, Brainiac," Peter threw the file back onto the desk, "So, the small batch that actually seem to have a chance, are they the ones we're going to talk to?"

"I'm afraid we don't have a choice,"

"Alright, I'll tell Janine to brew up some coffee, sounds like she's going to have a busy time ahead of her,"

"Venkman...,"

"What?"

* * *

A week after their announcement on live TV, and after days of reviewing applications, the Ghostbusters decided to call in the ones with the most potential. There was a handful of good applicants, but only a select few of them would get the jobs...if they passed their interviews. Luckily for her, Janine convinced the boys to take their shares of the interviews so she wouldn't be the one swamped with work. After all, they were the ones retiring, they had to do some of the last bit of work they had on their plates.

Venkman had seen his share of enthusiastic fans of the Ghostbusters before, but the young man that sat directly in front of him in his office was one of the bigger nerds, er, fans that he had ever seen before in his life. The young man was in his early twenties and was practically covered in Ghostbusters merchandise. From his T-shirt with their logo on the front, a loose black jacket with the same logo on the shoulders and a Ghostbusters bandanna wrapped around his head of dark brown hair that was peeking out in long strands in front of his face. Peter could see an incredibly excited look in the kid's blue-green eyes that were hiding behind his eyeglasses and he knew that he had been stuck with a gigantic fanboy.

God, why couldn't I have gotten an interview with a woman? I may be married, but at least I wouldn't have to put up with this... Peter thought as he looked over the application, "So...," he peered at the name written down, "Brian?"

"Yeah. Brian Berg," the young man held out a hand, "Awesome to meet you, Doctor Venkman!"

"Uh, yeah," Peter quickly shook his head and pulled away, "So, we've been going over your file for a while now and I'd like to know something,"

"Of course, anything!"

"Why do you want to be a Ghostbuster?"

Brian grinned widely, "Are you frickin' kidding?!" he leaned forward, the excited look getting brighter, "Doctor Venkman, I have been a fan of you and the other Ghostbusters...all my life!"

"I can see that," Peter glanced at his wardrobe, "But getting all the merchandise you can get your hands on doesn't mean you're qualified, kiddo,"

"No, but I'm sure it gives some brownie points or something," Brian shrugged a little, "But I don't care about that. Because of you guys, for most of my entire life, I've been reading book after book about paranormal stuff! I've been to websites, I've been in chatrooms, I've even read some of the published works of Doctors Stantz and Spengler! I know a lot about this stuff and I think that I can do it!" he grinned wider, "I've always wanted to work alongside the guys who took down the Stay Puft Marhsmallow Man...twice! I also wanted to join you ever since you marched the Statue of Liberty right up to the Manhattan Museum of Art back in '89!"

Peter raised an eyebrow, "You would have been two years back then...according to your application,"

"Yeah, I know, but thanks to digital copying, video archives and websites, I've read reports from eyewitnesses, I've seen videos of you guys in action, I know just about everything about you guys! I even know that you keep a ghost of your own here!" Brian paused and looked around quickly, "Speaking of, is he here? Is Slimer here, I wanna meet him, too!"

Jeez...fanboy's worst than I thought...

"No, he's not here, he's...busy with something for us, but back to the questions, kid," Peter cleared his throat, "What you're pretty much saying is that you want to join up because it's a dream of yours to do so?"

Brian nodded rapidly, "Hell yeah!"

"And...you don't have a problem with spirits?"

"Nuh-uh,"

"Have any problems with the possibilities of being a demon's bitch?"

Brian was quiet for a few moments, but shook his head, "Nope,"

"Why?"

"Because if I was a Ghostbuster, and if I saw a demon, I'd nuke that sucker clean into the new millennium!" Brian sat back in the chair, "To quote the motto: I ain't afraid of no ghosts!"

Peter just stared at him, then at the file, then back at him.

_Oh well, not like I'm going to be sticking around here much longer..._

"Congratulations, kid, you got the job,"

"HELL YEAH!!!"

* * *

"Alrighty," Ray smiled at his applicant and folded his hands, "First of all, Miss...," he looked down at the file, "Uh...,"

"Chambers. Kirsty Chambers," a cute young woman with long blonde hair and a British accent answered for him, giving him her own smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you and to be here,"

Ray's smile stayed, he had just been with this woman for a few moments after his last interview, but he was already starting to get a good feeling about her. He cleared his throat and lifted his hands, putting them in front of his face, "Miss Chambers, before we begin, I would like to express that while this is a rewarding and a very interesting job experience, that it doesn't mean there's no threat to danger to anyone who works here," he said calmly, but with a serious tone, "There were many times when I, and the rest of my team, have faced certain death on a case,"

"Of course," Kirsty nodded, "I known about your reputation as well as the dangerous spirits out there. Don't think that will deter me though, Doctor Stantz,"

She's dead set on this... Ray blinked a few times, then nodded and continued the interview, "It says here you've lived in England most of your life, but you've recently decided to move here. Why?"

Kirsty reached up and scratched the back of her head idly, "Well...it's complicated. Originally, it's my family,"

"Oh? You moved to get away?"

"Yeah," Kirsty nodded quickly, "They don't really believe in what you all do and I was originally moving here to try out a new country, but when I found out that you were retiring, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to do what you guys do! I'm very enthusiastic about the spirit world, Doctor Stantz,"

"Is that so?"

"Oh yes, very much. I've taken a few courses in the paranormal sciences back home and I've read many books from cover to cover many, many times, particularly the works that you published over the years," Kirsty sat back in her seat and shook her head, "I knew there were all kinds of spirits, but that Spirit Guide that you and Doctor Spengler published really opened my eyes to even more types of spooks! I knew ghosts were scary a lot of the time, but what you all have faced in your careers...it sends shivers down my spine!"

"Hehe, well, if those are good shivers, maybe I'll take you down to the containment unit down in the sub-basement. There's a viewer in there so you can see all the bad spirits we captured over the years,"

"Sounds wonderful,"

Ray looked at the file again, "It says here that you have a decent grade point average, and that you've got a high level of intelligence,"

"I don't mean to sound rude or snobbish, sir, but don't you have to have a certain level of intelligence to work this job? I mean, to use a proton pack or any other equipment you use is one thing, but what is a person of average intelligence going to do if the equipment fails?"

"Heh, don't worry, Kirsty, you're honest and that's a good thing," Ray gave a nod, then looked at the file yet again, "Well,, I must admit, you're certainly qualified and also very eager," he looked up and the smile reappeared, "I don't see any reason why you can't be a part of the company,"

"Does this mean that-?"

Ray chuckled and rose from his chair, holding his hand out, "Welcome to the Ghostbusters, Miss Chambers!"

Kirsty let out a small squeal and shot up from her chair, shaking Ray's hand as hard as she could, "Thank you, Doctor Stantz, you don't know how much this means to me!"

"Haha, okay, okay," Ray pulled his hand away as politely as he could, "I just have one question,"

"Yes?"

"Your last name, Chambers. Is that a common name in England?"

Kirsty gave a small laugh and nodded, "Pretty common. Why?"

"Oh, no reason," Ray waved her off, "Just something popped into my head,"

* * *

Egon looked straight at the young man that sat in front of him. He had pale skin, a pair of horn-rimmed glasses that he wore in front of a pair of eyes that seemed to have a mixture of brown and green, a head of black hair that went down to his shoulders and judging from the clothing he wore, he was one of those reclusive types of people who didn't get much physical activity but also didn't get much fat added to his build. The older Ghostbuster couldn't help but reminded a bit of himself when he was younger.

"Ezekial Cubar," he held up the application, "It says here that you've had some jobs before this, but have always gotten fired or quit shortly after. May I ask why?"

"Because people didn't like me,"

Egon glanced at him, "They didn't like you?"

Ezekial (who also went by both Izzy or Izz) nodded slowly, "That's right, Doctor Spengler. They didn't like me, so I quit,"

"While it's not really any of my business, may I ask why they didn't like you?"

Izz sighed and brushed a strand of hair behind his ear, "I'm smarter than most people and I'm also a bit...eccentric,"

"How so?"

"I tend to take any materials I can think of and make what I can out of them,"

Egon raised an eyebrow.

Izzy leaned forward, noticing the intrigued look on the older scientist, "Ever seen a pair of roller-skates that were powered not by the force of a human being, but by the sheer power of rocket fuel?"

"...to be honest, no,"

"Well, you should have seen the pair _I_ made," Izzy sat back, propping his head on the desk, "It started out okay, but I ended up crashing into a brick wall about five seconds later. I spent a couple of days in the hospital getting treated for broken bones. To be honest, Doctor Spengler, you give me anything that involves technology, I can either fix it or I can improve it,"

"Is that so?" Egon challenged, "So, you consider yourself a prodigy, do you?"

Izzy nodded, "May sound a bit self-absorbed for me to say, but it's true. Besides the old jobs I had, I used to do anything I could to make some money. Hell, my neighbors pay me petty cash just to fix their TV, a microwave or their DVD player,"

"I see," Egon tapped his desk with a pencil a little bit, "Well, even though I'll have to actually check your claims about your talent with technology, I have another important question for you. As a supposed man of science, you must have a level of disbelief with the supernatural and the spirit world,"

"...I did, once upon a time,"

"Beg your pardon?"

"I used to not really believe in crap like that," Izzy explained, "I used to think that the technologies, the stars, the written sciences...all of that was the real deal, not the occult. But when I actually came face to face with a spirit, and a really messed up one I might add, I began to think differently about my beliefs," Izzy looked straight at Egon, "I'll be frank, Doctor Spengler, you can look through candidate after candidate and I'm sure will spark your interest, but by the end of the long search, you'll think about me,"

"Why is that?"

Izzy smiled and pulled his glasses off, wiping them with his shirt, "Because, I doubt one of those people will even come close to fixing a proton pack on the job and I'll bet you fifty bucks that I'll be able to do that on the spot. The question is this: do you think I'm worthy to be a Ghostbuster?"

Egon stared at his applicant again, then returned his gaze to the application in front of his face. It was true, from all the information, Ezekial did seem to have some skills that would be needed on the field, not to mention the high level of intelligence. His attitude could use some work though, but he did seem to have the will to be a part of the team, even if there was a slim chance to join up. The aging Ghostbuster looked back and forth for the longest time, and Izzy held that smug grin on his face for just as long.

Finally, Egon knew that he had better face the facts. Sighing quietly, he leaned over the desk and held out his hand, "Welcome to the Ghostbusters, Ezekial,"

"Aw, thanks. Call me Izzy,"

* * *

"I'll be honest with you, son, I don't really know anything about hiring new people," Winston started off his one and only interview, opening a can of soda as he did, "When I joined up with these guys, I didn't know jack shit about what the hell they were packing or what they were doing. Luckily for me, it had good pay and I learned how to handle myself through time and practice,"

A young man with curly brown hair calmly brought out a cigarette and silver lighter, flicking it open, flame already burning. He looked at Zeddmore, "You mind if I-?"

"No, go ahead,"

"Sweet," the job hunter lit his cigarette and took a long drag before blowing a puff of smoke into the air above him, "Needed that. Alright, old timer, here's my honest schtick,"

Winston couldn't help but feel an eyebrow twitch at the term "Old Timer". He knew he was getting in his age, but STILL!

"You know my name is Jonathan Jarocki from my special piece of paper there," the young man nodded to the application in Winston's hand, "The only reason I'm even trying for this job is because I need a job that pays more than $1.25 an hour. I don't really believe in the ghost stories or whatever the hell you got going on there. I'm just a guy who is interested in the gothic crowd, and who is looking for some cash. My best and pretty much only noteworthy skill is that I'm good with vehicles. Give me a junker and the right parts, I can have it up and running in no time at all. You want me to believe in ghosts, then I'll believe it as long as I get paid for doing whatever job you give me,"

Old Zeddmore stared at him and the memory of the day he got hired came flooding back to him.

-Flashback-

_"Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness Monster and the Theory of Atlantis?" Janine shot question after question, propping her head up in complete boredom._

_Winston took a few moments to answer, "Uh...if there's a steady paycheck in it...then I'll believe **anything** you say,"_

-End Flashback-

"So, waddya say, old timer?"

Winston clicked his tongue, "Kid, I'm gonna tell you what someone told me a long time ago,"

"Hm?"

"Welcome aboard!"

* * *

Peter, Ray, Egon, Janine and Winston looked out at the newly hired team from the safety and privacy of Peter's soon-to-be empty office in the back of the firehouse.

"So, these are the newbloods, huh?" Janine asked her friends as she chewed a relatively fresh piece of gum, "A fanboy who just might have ADD, a Goth kid who doesn't really believe and just wants to get money in his pockets, a smartass whose ego matches his IQ level and a girl from England. Sure know how to pick 'em, guys,"

Ray shrugged, "I think they'll do alright,"

"Fifty bucks says the fan whose overdosed on sugar blows himself up in a week," Janine cracked, "Well, it's your call guys, you gotta live with it. Luckily with my choice, I don't have a thing to worry about,"

The four older men turned to her, "Your choice?" they asked in unison.

Janine smiled and pointed a finger to the front through the open doorway. The guys followed her finger to see a fifth person, a young man with shaggy brown hair sitting on top of Ecto-1a, tapping the front of the grill in boredom.

"Who the hell is that?"

"You guys are retiring and getting new people to help out, so am I," Janine folded her arms, "The kids name is Toby Dicey. He came looking for a job, but since the odds of him being hired as a new Ghostbuster were pretty damn slim so...," she waved slightly, "Meet the new receptionist. He's good with computers, he can type, he knows how to work a lot of the new gear out there today, which is a giant plus since it's a major pain in the ass for me nowadays. All I have to do is give him the basic run-through and he'll be set,"

Peter nudged her lightly, "Guess that means you're out of here, huh Bug-Eyes?"

Janine glared at him.

"Sorry...dunno why that old nickname came up," Peter scratched his head, "All that's left is to get them trained and they're ready, huh?"

"That and decide what to do with the car," Winston reminded him, "Might as well get them uniforms as well,"

"Oh, that will be a challenge. Where on earth are we going to find four gray jumpsuits with customizable name tags?" Peter asked loudly, "We're _doomed_!!"

_SMACK_

"Ow! Janine...!"

* * *

**Kilnorc: Alright, there's that chapter! Hope you guys like the new team (those you may know already, but last one named Jonathan is a new OC given from a friend. The following OCs belong to the following people.**

**Brian Berg - Belongs to me.**

**Ezekial Cubar - Belongs to Dude of Doom**

**Kirsty Chambers - Belongs to Super-nanny**

**Jonathan Jarocki - Belongs to gambit508.**

**Tutorials and possible on the job training coming very soon!**

**Now, before I go, I'm curious. In the video game, although it was unexplained, they had Vigo's painting in the firehouse, even though it was destroyed AND altered in the last movie. I'm good either way on this, but I'm wondering, should I include Vigo's painting? I have an idea of what kind of collection the guys have from jobs and stuff, and with GB fandom and knowledge of the game, I'm wondering about Vigo's painting.  
**


	5. Around the Firehouse

**Around the Firehouse**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ghostbusters.**

* * *

"Alright, rookies," Ray clapped his hands together as he approached the new team, "First of all, I'd like to say congratulations and welcome to the Ghostbusters,"

Brian bounced in place, "This is great, this is great, this is great!!!"

Ray looked at him oddly, "Did you, by chance, have a large amount of sugar before coming here?"

"Uh...," Brian scratched his head, "Had a couple really big sodas from a convienence store. Not big ones, but those giant ones, ya know?"

That would explain it... Ray cleared his throat, "Anyhoo, for those of you who don't know me, I am Doctor Raymond Stantz. The others and I discussed it for a short time and it was decided that I was the best choice to give you a guided tour of the firehouse. I'll take you to all the levels, show you where the equipment is, where we keep the ghosts we catch and a special area if we have time. If not, we'll just show you later. Now," Ray snapped his fingers, "All five of you, follow me!"

Toby raised his hand, "Five of us? Me too, Doc?"

"You're a new member of the company, right? You'll have to know where stuff is. If you're uncomfortable with it, you can always have Janine take you on a tour,"

The new receptionist leaned to the side and saw the older secretary standing in the back, apparently flirting with Egon. He grimaced a little and pulled back, "I think I'll hang with you guys...,"

"Alright then, let's get going. Oh, and...uh...Brian was it?"

"Yep!"

"I'm gonna have to ask you to keep your hands to yourself...,"

"Aw man...,"

The tour of course, began on the ground floor.

"On this level, as you see," Ray waved his arms around, "Is the central hub of the Ghostbusters. Behind me, you see the reception area. This is where Janine has sat and worked for us ever since we started back in '84. Peter interviews certain clients in his office at the back and even our own Louis Tully has his space on the floor to do his work. You'll meet him later, great guy, great accountant. This is also the floor where we keep the Ecto-1a at the ready," he nodded to the old car, "But then, I think you all know that already,"

Jonathan looked at the Ecto-1a, flicking his lighter open and close, "That's an old car, man. Looks like a 1959 Cadillac with professional chassis, combination of a hearse and an old school ambulance. Like I said, old as hell,"

"Yeah, but she's been really helpful," Ray smiled proudly, "She was a bit of a junker when I first bought her, and it cost quite a bit for it to be tuned up, but-,"

"How much did it cost?" the Goth cut him off, eyes locked on the car.

"Well, I was able to put it back into shape myself," Ray shrugged a little, "About $4,800 if I remember correctly,"

Jonathan scoffed and shook his head, "Dude, you got ripped off,"

Ray frowned, "Huh?"

"Oh, I'm just saying that you got ripped off," Jonathan said casually, shaking his head, "The contacts I have in junkyards, and my know-how with cars, I could have done all that for _half_ that at best," he flicked his lighter closed and looked around, "What next, Doc?"

Ray could just stare at him. He didn't even notice that Brian had practically jumped in the Ecto-1a and got into the driver's seat until the familiar sirens began to blare, startling everyone around it. Ray and the others gave him a look of slight annoyance. Brian stuck his head out of the car, "Sorry! Had to do it at least once!"

Jonathan rolled his eyes and turned away, "Frickin' fanboy," he noticed a large set of lockers nearby and headed over to them, "Hey, Stantz, what are these?"

"Oh! Those are our lockers," Ray jogged over as Jonathan opened up Egon's locker, "This is where we keep our uniforms when we're not wearing them. Man, if these things could talk, they would say-,"

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

A slamming sound, followed by an echo of fast footsteps, and Brian had practically bowled both Ray and Jonathan over as he came to a stop at the lockers. The fanboy's eyes were huge as he opened the other lockers and just about ripped one of the older looking ones off the rack, feeling the material between his fingers.

"Oh my god, the Ghostbusters wore these when they were out catching ghosts and saving the world!!" he snapped his head around to a surprised (and ever growing annoyed Ray), "Which ones did you guys wear when you blew up Stay Puft and Gozer?!"

Ray coughed loudly, "Those are not here,"

"Where are they, at the museum?!"

Ray shook his head, "Nope,"

"Then where the hell are they, I wanna see them!"

Toby leaned over to Kirsty, dropping his voice, "I got a weird feeling about this guy...," he whispered.

Kirsty nodded, "Just a little bit," she hissed back.

Ray gently (as best he could anyway) pulled Brian away from the lockers, closing them so he wouldn't tear through them, "The uniforms we wore when we fought Gozer are completely gone, kid," he saw the shocked/horrified look on Brian's face, "When we beat Gozer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man exploded, our uniforms were completely covered with the marshmallow. After we got back here at the firehouse, Egon said that they had been exposed to massive psycho-kinetic energy and all of them would have to be destroyed,"

"_Why_?" Brian whined a little, "Could have just washed 'em, man!"

"It wasn't the mess, Brian," Kirsty explained in a loud voice, making them turn to her, "The suits absorbed a large amount of ectoplasmic energy, which is like putty. You see, if you keep adding that, it builds and builds until it gets really big energy mass,"

Ray nodded, "Very good, Kirsty,"

"Thank you, Doctor Stantz,"

"Now, she's right, but I know from personal experience what happens when P.K.E. Energy builds _too_ much,"

"What, it blows up?" Jonathan asked, taking a new cigarette from his pack, "More ecto-whatever get everywhere?"

Ray shook his head solemnly, "Peter was _supposed_ to destroy the uniforms, but he put it off and just stashed them near the containment unit after we had just fixed it. Now, there must've been a crack or something in the unit, because more ectoplasmic energy pooled and built up in the uniforms. Finally, after so much gathering, our uniforms began to not only take on lives of their own, but the ectoplasmic energy created spirit-like doppelgangers of ourselves, complete with ecto proton packs. We had a hard time dealing with them, but with Slimer's help, we were able to catch them,"

"I have a question, Doctor Stantz," Toby raised his hand.

"What's up, kiddo?"

"Look, I'll just say right off the bat that I dunno crap about the spirit stuff or paranormal mumbo jumbo stuff you all do here, so forgive my ignorance, but how the hell did they look like you?"

"I asked Egon that same thing and he said that we all left mental imprints. Those are like fingerprints, so the energy from the ectoplasm fused with the imprints we had and created spectral copies of us. Since then, the uniforms were taken care of and whenever we come across situations where we're covered in a massive amount of P.K.E Energy, we burn the uniforms. Luckily for us, a lot of the spooks we run into aren't as powerful as Gozer, which is why we don't burn our clothes whenever Slimer gets us," Ray cleared his throat, "Okay, I think that's enough for stories on this floor. Let's continue with the tour and you'll hear all kinds of stuff,"

As Ray lead them away, Jon noticed that they were one person short. Looking back at the lockers, he noticed Brian was going through one of them again, no doubt his fanboyness taking over again. The Goth rolled his eyes, stomped over, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him away hard, dragging him along.

"C'mon, ya nerd..."

"Hey, leggo, man!"

* * *

**Second Floor**

"...should we do something about this?" Izzy asked aloud.

Kirsty couldn't find the words, so she just shrugged and shook her head.

Jonathan took a drag of his smokes, "I say we ban him from soda or something...,"

Toby blinked a few times, "How can he keep doing that, isn't he getting tired?"

Ray, along with the others, watched as Brian ran across the room, jumped onto the nearest pole and slid down to the first floor, laughing his head off. They listened as they heard him stomp up the stairs as quickly as he could, run across the floor and latch onto the pole again. He had started doing this ever since they arrived on the second floor and that was about ten minutes ago.

"Well, at least he'll sleep good tonight," Ray mused, "Lets him burn off that hyperactivity he's got going," he turned around, "Anyway, you guys, this is where the Ghostbusters, well most of us, have been working and sleeping here at the firehouse. In this room is the sleeping quarters, as you can see by the beds here. We made this our bedroom because it's closest to the fire poles," he pointed back to the poles as Brian made his umpteenth trip down, "A call can come in anytime, even while you sleep, so we have to be ready. Needless to say, the job can get tiring,"

Kirsty walked ahead and stopped in the middle of the room, looking at the beds for a few moments. She turned to Ray, "I have a question,"

"Shoot,"

"The sleeping here in the firehouse...is that optional?"

Ray began to nod slowly, as if he was unsure of what to say, "Well, that depends on the teammate. When the guys and I first started, we lived here. Back in '89, Peter had some stuff happen at his apartment, so he just stayed and lived there while working here with us,"

"Oooh," Kirsty murmured, nodding, "Alright, good to know,"

"Is that a problem with you, Kirsty?" Ray asked, sounding a little concerned.

She shrugged, "Well, I'm not sure. I don't mind living here in the firehouse, Doctor Stantz, I'd like to spend as much time as possible studying what you guys do and what you have done, it's just that...," she scratched the back of her head idly, "I'm the only girl here,"

Ray nodded, "Uh huh...,"

"Only girl on a team with three guys, four if you count Toby,"

"...uh huh...,"

Izzy sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "She wants her own room, if it's possible,"

Ray turned to him, then back to Kirsty, looking confused for a short time until it finally seemed to hit him, "OH! OH! RIGHT!" he slapped his forehead, "Wow, I didn't think of that! I'm sorry!"

Kirsty waved him off, "It's okay, we'll think of something," she said nonchalantly, "Would it be possible for me, well those of us interested, to see where you and Doctor Spengler work?"

Izzy chuckled, "This is going to be good. Where is it, downstairs?"

The older Ghostbuster held up a finger and began to move to a nearby doorway, "The lab where Egon and I work is in here, but we also work on equipment in the sub-basement, so we'll visit that next,"

While Brian was still having his pole run, Ray showed the others where he and the others worked. Now, they all expected it to be completely filled with science stuff, but were surprised that it looked like a rec room of sorts. There was a couch, a television, some old arcade games in the back corner, a pool table in the middle of the room and the science equipment was seen in only a few parts of the room.

Izzy cleaned his glasses and ran his fingers along some of the equipment, "No offense, Doctor Stantz, but these things look really dated. Late eighties, early to mid nineties at best," he looked to the Ghostbuster over his shoulder, "You guys ever think of upgrading your equipment?"

Ray shrugged, "These have worked out fine for us ever since we started, so why fix what isn't broken?"

"Holy shit, I found a cassette player," Jonathan held up a large radio, "Man, talk about relics!" he pressed the EJECT button and looked at the tape inside, "Higher and Higher? Who the hell is Jackie Wilson?"

"You think that's weird, man, check this out," Izzy held up a bizarre looking piece of equipment that looked like a metal bowl of some kind with wires poking in and out, "What the hell is this, a strainer for pasta?"

Ray could only rub ihs temples as the rookies went back and forth, looking at the equipment, _GOD, I feel old..._

A loud crash was heard, followed by an even louder yelp.

"What the hell was that?" Izzy asked as Jonathan made his way into the sleeping quarters. The others waited for a short time until they heard Jonathan give a short, but audible laugh.

"The nerd missed the pole and just fell down the hole, landed on the floor...hard!"

* * *

**Sub-Basement**

"How's your head, kid?"

"It's alright...," Brian blinked a few times, holding the icepack to the good sized-bump that was already forming on his forehead, "I'll be fine,"

"Well, if you feel any discomfort or light-headed, you let me know immediately," Ray ordered as he pulled open the door to the lower levels, "Anyway, kids, down here is where the real work of the Ghostbusters happens. Down here, we have our ecto-containment unit, filled with every spook, specter, ghost, slimers and everything else we've run into. Well, except for ones that were really big-time and couldn't exactly catch. As I said before, we also do some technical work down here, such as maintenance on our proton packs and our ghost traps, and we even keep some special stuff down here,"

"Special stuff?" Izzy asked as they moved down the flight of stairs, "What do you mean by that?"

Ray was hesitant, "Uh...sometimes we confiscate or collect certain items that would be of great scientific use or would be too dangerous to be left out in th general public,"

As they entered the main area of the sub-basement, there were a few things occupying it, but the one thing that drew everyone's attention right off the bat was a rather large, piece of equipment in the far wall. It seemed to stick out, it's red metal plates welded and bolted together in order to safely protect the sensitive wiring inside. In the middle of the device was a medium-sized pane of glass and the gang could see a bright light shimmering through it now and then.

Izzy and Kirsty made a bee-line for the ecto-containment unit, stopping either just short a few feet from it, or stopping right in front of the glass.

"The hell is that?" Jonathan asked, pulling another new cigarette out of his jeans, "An over-sized septic tank?"

"No, that is the special containment unit that we keep down here and that we use to keep all the ghosts and other entities we catch in a form of stasis," Egon informed him, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing his lighter, "Not down here, please, there are very sensitive equipment and other things that potentially hazardous," he shook the lighter in front of his face before heading to a large workstation on the other side of the room. Brian's eyes followed Egon and when he saw what was on the table, he couldn't resist.

"SPENGLER, HEADS UP!" Ray shouted as Brian bolted towards him.

Egon quickly stepped in between Brian and the workplace, holding the fanboy as back as possible.

Ray chuckled and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he made his way to the two of them, "I think I know what he's got his eyes on, Egon," he nodded to four large, dark-colored objects covered in wires, lights and tubing of all kinds, "Should've seen that coming. You should've seen him, Spengs, when he saw our lockers and our uniforms, he went all nerd on them,"

"Well, that's clothing and storage space, Ray," Egon pointed out as he pushed Brian away a little, "Not highly dangerous nuclear accelerators that could blow one to New Jersey if tampered with,"

"Aw, c'mon!" Brian bounced up and down, practically drooling at the sight of the proton packs, "I just wanna look at them, Egon!" he pleaded, totally bypassing formalities, "I won't touch them, I just wanna know what they can do!"

Ray laughed again, "Eager little beaver, isn't he?"

Egon pushed up his glasses, "Yes, he is. Reminds me of another person," he turned away and looked at his equipment, "Let's pray this one doesn't summon a giant marshmallow man or possessed by a tyrant's spirit that's trapped in a painting,"

"You say something, Egon?"

"Nothing, Raymond," Egon turned to Brian, "Alright, you can look, but you can't touch the proton packs...for now, they're going through a maintenance check-up, so they're pretty sensitive until I give the green light. However, what you can touch is this," he held up a P.K.E. Meter and a pair of goggles, "Do you know what those are?"

"Stuff you use to find and catch ghosts," Brian swiped the equipment away and donned the goggles, "What are these, night-vision goggles?"

"If they are, can I shine a bright light in front of his face?" Jonathan asked, growing annoyed that he wasn't smoking right now.

Egon shook his head, "They're not night-vision goggles, although they do have that feature," he tapped the P.K.E. Meter, "This is a P.K.E. Meter, also known as a Psycho-Kinetic Energy Meter. It detects levels and traces of energy that is left behind by spirits, or it can also detect energies that surround certain things. Those goggles are known as Ecto-Goggles, and they're connected to the P.K.E. Meter. While you wear those, you can see things the naked eye cannot. Ghost trails, remains of certain ectoplasm, all kinds of things. With the P.K.E. Meter, the glowing bars will change color and grow in size when you pick up on something, and the stronger it gets, the more it'll beep and the little arms on the sides will rise. When you reach a hot spot, it'll go crazy and the arms will go as high as possible,"

"Duuuuuuuuuude, that is awesome...," Brian lifted the goggles, blinking, "Screws with your eyesight though...,"

"Either that or it's that bump you got when you fell down the pole hole," Jonathan thought loudly.

Egon frowned and turned to Ray, "He fell down the-?" he stopped as Ray nodded in silence, "Even _you_ didn't do that, Ray,"

"Woohoo!" Brian cheered, "I did something a Ghostbuster didn't do!"

Jonathan pushed off the wall he was leaning on and headed to another part of the sub-basement, "That's _not_ a good thing...," he murmured.

Meanwhile, Kirsty and Izzy were looking at the containment unit. As Izzy looked over the exterior, Kirsty looked through the glass viewer, checking out the ghosts inside.

"Amazing...," she breathed, seeing all kinds of spooks, "The energy used to hold this amount of spirits in a single place must be great,"

Izzy nodded as he looked over the technology, "It is. The readings on here are through the roof," he glanced at the trapdoor that lay just under the viewer, "I'm surprised with the amount of psycho-kinetic energy all of those things must be giving off and how many they must've captured over the years, they haven't run out of room or run out of money to pay for the amount of electricity they're sucking in to keep those things in there,"

"Uh huh," Kirsty mumbled, her eyes glued to the viewer, "Incredible...,"

"Hey! Old guys!"

Egon and Ray turned to see Jonathan standing in front of a thick-looking iron door that was locked up like crazy.

The Goth knocked on the door, "The hell's in here?"

* * *

**Kilnorc: Alright, this chapter's done. I had more planned, but it felt long enough, so I'll save that for the next chapter. Don't worry fans, the first case is on its way!  
**


	6. Big Boo Boo

**Big Boo Boo  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ghostbusters! If I did...man, I'd be EFFin' rich.**

* * *

"Whoa...,"

"That, is an understatement!"

Toby, Izzy, Jon, Kirsty and Brian stood in a large storage room, which had just been unlocked and opened from the other side. Inside were shelves upon shelves of items of all kinds, each one of them with a serial number and sealed within a see-through, but secure casing. Ray cleared his throat as he moved past the newbies, into the large room, taking the lead of the group, "Welcome, lady and gentlemen to our fine locker of cursed and supernaturally altered artifacts that the guys and I have picked up over the years as Ghostbusters. Every single one of these items we have taken from the field, cataloged them, researched them, and stored them away in a safe environment. Most of these things here are harmless and only register a poltergeist level of spiritual turbulence, but there are such artifacts that are...well, not as safe,"

"Any one of them in particular, Doctor Stantz?" Kirsty asked, raising her hand.

Ray thought for a moment, scrunching his face up a little and clicked his tongue, "Well...there is specific one that I have a personal history with, and normally I would try to avoid it as much as possible, but you guys are the new blood, you're bound to know about it sooner or later," he turned and began walking down the rows, "Come on, follow me!"

As they followed the senior Ghostbuster through the storage unit, the group found themselves staring at all kinds of objects. Ray heard them whispering about their findings and grinned to himself, Ah, kids...if they really love this job, they're gonna love learning about this stuff! he stopped and turned on his heel, facing them and making the group almost run into one another at the sudden stop, "You guys see anything you like?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, please tell me you're joking, dude!" Brian jabbed a finger to the artifacts around them, "All this is really cool shit! What do they do? I mean, take this for example," he reached over and picked up a container with a red telephone inside, "What the hell kinda story is behind this? I mean, it looks like the red phone from that Batman TV series Adam West was in!"

Ray broke into a grin, "You saw that show, too?"

"Aw, yeah, I saw my fair share of it. Really cheesy though, I mean, what the HELL was with those crappy 'sound effects' they showed everytime they landed a punch or a kick on a villain? BIFF! POW! BOP! Seriously, what the hell, sounds like they belong to a really weird kind of candy...and don't even get me started on the theme song,"

"Na na na na na na na, Batman!" Ray hummed loudly and sighed, "Good times, good times...,"

"Batman today is better though. Great actors and great stories. Dark Knight was the best out of the new series, and Tim Burton's Batman films were great for the 90's!" Brian frowned, "Joel Schumacher practically raped the series with Batman Forever and Batman and Robin," he shook his head, then grinned a little, "Catwoman was hot though, in Batman Returns, and I mean HOT!"

Jon looked at Ray and at Brian, "Excuse me, super-dorks?" he snapped his fingers between them, bringing them out of their rants, "The stuff around us?"

"Ah! Right, right, I'm so sorry," Ray clapped his hands and cleared his throat, "Well, Brian, that phone, while it does not allow Commissioner Gordon to call Batman in the Batcave, it does have a piece of it's own history attached to it. This one, a model of TeleCo's red phone series, circa 1965, is one of about five. They say that this one phone completed phone calls, but for those who were about to die. We call this little misfortune-teller 'Asmodeus' Hotline',"

"Asmodeus?" Jon flicked his lighter on, bored, "For those of us who aren't nerds...?" he trailed off.

"Asmodeus," Brian chirped, a proud grin on his face, "In the Renaissance, Christians regarded Asmodeus as the King of the Nine Hells, and even as one of the Seven Princes of Hell. Each Prince of Hell was regarded to as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Asmodeus, specifically, was called the Demon Prince of Lust,"

"So...a phone that had people die shortly after each phone call is named after him because...?" Jon waved a hand, urging him to continue, "What's a demon of Lust have to do with death? What'd he do, talk to them over the phone and give them one hell of a sex phone conversation? Is that it, he got them all hot and going and when they were done, their hearts gave out and died from exhaustion?"

Ray shook his head, "Not that I know of kid, but that does remind me of something that happened to me once back in '84, I'll tell you later. Any other questions before we head out to see the big one?"

"What about that one?" Kirsty pointed to something off to the side, "Aren't those a pair of pants?"

"Aaah, those pants," Ray held up a finger and beckoned the newbies to follow him again, "Do any of you guys know an urban legend called 'Girl on the Road' ?"

"Yo!" Toby called from the back of the group, "Those pants belonged to her?"

"Hold on," Kirsty held up a time's-up hand sign, "Girl on the Road??"

Jon brought out a new cigarette, "It's an old ghost story, girl. There are different versions, but the story is pretty much the same. Legend has it that a man picks up a young woman on the side of the road and picks her up to give her a lift to her destination. She's usually cold, so he lets her borrow his jacket or something like that, and they talk through the trip. Sometimes, either at the end of the trip or sometime before the end of the trip, the girl hitchhiker disappears completely. Startled, the driver goes to her destination, which is like her home and asks the people there about it. Come to find out, the woman he picked up was the ghost of the woman, who had died sometime before while on the road. Scared, but also curious, the guy goes to the local graveyard to find her headstone and when he gets there, he sees his jacket or whatever piece of clothing he gave her, draped across the tombstone,"

Everyone stared at him, surprised at his disposal of information.

"What?" Jon lit his cigarette, "Urban legends are interesting. You know they made a series of horror movies around those kind of things. Gory and scary, people, gory and scary,"

"DUDE!" Brian's face lit up as he slapped Jon on the back, "I love those movies! What other horror movies you into?!"

Kirsty sighed and turned to Ray while the two males went about their movie discussion, "Anyway, the pants?"

"Well, we call these the Possessed Bell-Bottom Jeans," Ray began as they came to a large display case, which held a rather nice looking pair of old jeans, "Also known as the Walking Pants. Made in 1970, these pants are usually spotted in some weird or tragic event that revolves around the psychedelic community," he held up a peace sign, "..and yes, they are known to actually walk around, we have media evidence to prove that,"

"Wow...," Kirsty nodded slowly, looking at the pants, "Fascinating!"

Ray laughed and began to move again, "If you think that's good, wait until you see this! Boys and girl, it's now time to show you one of the most famous artifacts we have here in Ghostbusters HQ! He's big, he's creepy, and he's got one nasty piece of history!"

Izzy raised an eyebrow, "...he...?"

"Yes, he," Ray nodded, "He crossed us in our beloved city of New York in 1989 and damn near took over the world with the help of some special kind of slime," they turned a corner and approached a large object, covered with a huge piece of cloth, "Everyone, say hello to our resident spiritual tyrant...," he grabbed the cloth and yanked it away, revealing the object hidden underneath, "Vigo Von Homburg Deutschendorf, better known as Vigo the Carpathian!"

All ten eyes from the rookies went wide when they looked upon the intimidating portrait of a very large, disturbing looking man with a large forehead, long blondish hair and a pair of cold, evil eyes. He was dressed in what appeared to be old-style leather craft armor, standing next to a stone before a great castle.

"There is no frickin' way...," Brian blinked for the first time in a long wait, "H-how? I mean, didn't you guys like blast him?!"

Ray shrugged, "Well, yes and no. You see, we did fight Vigo back in '89 on New Year's Eve, and we did blow him away, but he came back shortly after in a new painting. This time however, he wasn't as powerful due to the lack of power increases from the River of Slime that coursed under the city's streets. When we first crossed paths, he was a Level 7 spirit, but now, he's nothing more than a Level 4!"

Izzy frowned and rubbed his chin, "What changed? I mean, I don't understand Doctor Stantz, why did he go down in power?"

"It was the Mood Slime," Ray explained, "All of that stuff was being pooled and fed to him, fueling his immense spiritual essence. Granted, he was almost as strong as Gozer, who was also a Level 7 entity, but still not as powerful. Without the River of Slime to give him the juice he needs, he's much more easier to manage,"

Kirsty eyed the portrait and moved back a little bit, "Does it...does he...you know? Talk?"

"Now and then, when he feels like it, but it's usually to himself, I think. Hard to say really, we don't come down here for a chit-chat. We do hear him from time to time through the vents," Ray glance at the painting, "Man, those were good times, goooood times,"

"...didn't you get possessed by him, old timer?"

"It was still a great time! I felt so good when I woke up afterwards. Sticky and covered in slime, but I felt so good!"

* * *

"Alright, now that we're done with the tour, it's time for you four to get to know your equipment," Egon held up one of the icons of the business, "This is a proton pack, an essential tool to being a Ghostbuster, but it's also very, very dangerous! In simple terms, you'll wear the giant power source of the equipment on your back. It's heavy and it's rather delicate equipment, although it has survived many things over the years. The gun," he held up the thrower with one hand, "...is the main source of your power in a case. When it is properly prepped and powered, you can all unleash a stream of positively charged ions that can hurt and ensnare spirits, which are usually powered by negatively charged energy. There are a few different variations you may use, but we'll begin with the basics. The first is the blast stream, which you can fire and use to weaken a spirit so they may be able to be captured and forced into a trap,"

"Like Pokemon?"

Egon blinked a few times, "Yes, Brian, like Pokemon...," he coughed lightly, "As I was saying. The second is the capture stream itself. You can turn this on and use it against the spirits and entities you face when they appear weak enough to trap. Sometimes, even though they will be caught in the streams, they will still be a little difficult, which is when you, how we say, slam them into nearby environmental hazards. This helps the weakening process, and therefore, helps the trapping process. Finally, you'll notice the attachment just underneath the proton thrower," he pointed to a canister-like device attached to the proton pack with a thick, clear tube filled with what appeared to be green goo, "This is the revised Slime Blower. Back in the '80s, we used to carry separated pieces of equipment on our backs, really heavy tanks, so we modified them to be attached to our proton packs instead to help lighten the load and bring about convenience. You can use the Slime Blower to either force a spirit out of the body of a possession victim, or you can use a Slime Tether to catch a spirit without actually weakening it with the proton stream,"

Peter tapped Egon on the shoulder, "Remember, back in '91, at the Museum when that Shandor crap went down? Our little friend Pecker got possessed by a ghost and ended up dancing around in the air like he was from the 1920's or something like that!" he sighed and smiled, "Man, that was a fun night...,"

"Yes, Peter, thank you," Egon lightly shoved him away and went back to the recruits, "Now, who would like to-?"

"ME!" Brian appeared almost instantly in front of him, his back to Egon, "Strap me in, Doc, I've always wanted to do this ever since I was a little kid!"

"Alright...but remember, this is very delicate equipment, and the proton pack is not a toy. I don't want to come in and see you using the Slime Tether for something other than catching ghosts, you understand me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I do, no using the Slime Blower to pretend I'm Spider-Man, I got it, now hook me in!"

I got a bad feeling about this... Egon thought as he helped the eager rookie into the gear, Better prepare for our insurance rates to go up.

Once he was totally strapped in, Brian walked around, feeling the weight of the pack on his shoulders as he gripped the thrower, a look of immense pride plastered on his face. He cracked his neck and looked back at Egon, "You know what the difference between me and you is?"

"What's that?"

"I make this look good!"

Jon slapped himself in the face, "Nerd-boy, this is not Men In Black, you are not Will Smith and this geezer still looks better than you in that!"

"Thank you...I think," Egon said slowly, unsure if it was a compliment or an insult, "Now, Brian, switch on the thrower...," a flicking sound was heard, followed by a high whine-like sound that filled the basement, "Very good. Now,"

"HE'S LOOSE WITH A PROTON PACK!" Jon suddenly screamed, "EVERYONE DUCK AND COVER!!!"

Brian flipped the Goth the bird, "Bite me, emo boy! I know what I'm doing!" he held up the thrower, "If I wanted to use this, I'd point it away from you guys, so I wouldn't hurt you, and then I would pull the trigger, which would-,"

"BRIAN! DON'T-!" Egon began to scream, but was cut off by a burst of light, followed by the ever familiar stream of proton energy that flew from the device. The beam danced wildly in the air for a moment, then it hit the front of the Containment Grid, not only cutting through the protective metal material, but it set off the alarms. Not just alarms, but alarms that said they were really, really screwed if they didn't leave and fast.

"RUN KIDS!" Ray shouted, shoving the newbies to the door, "Everyone out before it-!"

**KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

* * *

**Kilnorc; Oh my my my, what HAS that fool done? Did he unleash the spooks? If so, how many? All of them, or some of them? Specific ones from the past of the Originals, or generally classed spooks? I don't know...or do I? I bet you guys are wondering, too? Take a shot at what happens and who gets let out!**


	7. Missing in Action

**Missing in Action  
**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Ghostbusters, that belongs to the ever awesome Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and all the major players!**

* * *

It was a really messed up day.

One minute the guys were teaching the newbies how to use their equipment, the next minute, one of the newbies ends up destroying the containment grid with said equipment! The last couple of times the grid blew, the firehouse was the only thing was ever really damaged, but today...it was different. People got hurt this time around.

The recruits managed to get only some scrapes and bruises, but it was Ray and Egon who got most of the damage. They were the ones who were more in the hot zone of the explosion, trying to get the new kids out, so they got most of the damage inflicted on them. Because of that, they were rushed to the nearest hospital with serious injuries. The newbies, Janine, and Winston all stood or sat in the waiting room, anxiously awaiting word of their condition. Winston was doing his best to help Janine through, since she and Egon were close, and Brian was doing his best to keep away from the other recruits. Kirsty tried to console him, however he just kept backing away from her, muttering under his breath. Izzy, Toby, and Jonathan didn't even bother to go towards him, they just sat next to each other, being all quiet.

As they waited, a group of familiar faces rounded the corner and darted towards the senior members. Peter, his wife Dana, and Louis Tulley came speeding up to them and embracing them one at a time, making sure they were all right.

"How are they, guys?" Dana asked quietly, "Have you heard anything?"

Janine tried to speak, but her eyes just welled up and she shook her head, sniffing loudly.

Winston sighed, "Nothing yet. Peter, how's the grid?"

"Well, a trigger happy fanboy gets his hands on a proton pack and literally blows the shit out of the containment unit, what the hell do you think, Zeddmore?!" Peter snapped, obviously shaken at recent events. Peter wasn't exactly one to show true emotions, as he was usually sarcastic and a goofball, but this...this was different. He was actually scared and worried to death about two people he had come to love as family. Even Dana was trying her best to deal with this, as was Louis. Normally, the nerd would try and keep his mind occupied with paperwork, but in this particular case, even he didn't think it would help.

"Sorry, Winst...," Peter sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes, "Uh...the grid's got some major damage, but most of the ghosts we've caught are still in there,"

Winston raised an eyebrow, "...most?"

Peter nodded, "I took a little inventory and a good number of old friends of ours are out there," he held up a finger, "The Gray Lady's gone, a certain pair of convict brothers have high tailed it, the sea captain we caught back in the 90's is gone...and that's just to name a few,"

"Guys, the doctor's here!" Louis half-shouted, making everyone in the waiting room jump.

The older members and the new recruits all turned their heads to see an older man walking up to them, wearing hospital scrubs. The two generations of Ghostbusters, even Brian, moved into one group and stared at the doctor.

"How are they, doc?"

-----

That night, at the firehouse, everyone was checking out the damage to the building. Peter's old office was in ruin, thanks to a burst of energy from below, it would need to be re-built. The stairs leading up were missing a good chuck of steps and the sub-basement were in bad shape as well. Luckily for the group however, the artifacts were safe, as were all of the equipment.

"Man, I still can't believe this happened," Kirsty murmured, rubbing her arms as she looked around at the damage, "There's so much damage,"

"Yeah, and guess who's fault that is?" Jonathan snapped, casting a glare at Brian, who was sitting against a wall in the garage, head buried into his knees, "The nerd nearly got us all killed! Not to mention, he let out some of the ghosts!"

Kirsty walked up to him, "It wasn't his fault," she said quietly, "This kind of thing is known to happen!"

"Oh, you mean one of the Ghostbusters who are meant to protect the city and the world from total supernatural destruction have nearly killed their own teammates?"

"A lot of things, dangerous things, happens on the job here!" Kirsty snapped, glaring at him, her eyes burning into his, "Sometimes, shit happens and there is nothing anyone can do a God damn thing about it, so they do what they can to move on!" she lowered her voice, "Egon and Ray are gonna make it through, they're not dead. They're injured, yes, but they've been injured before, that's a given. Yes, the containment unit almost got blown to bits and some ghosts have gotten out, but again, it happens! So before you even think of making someone feel like shit because of an inevitable accident actually occurred, you think very hard about what dangers this job has!"

With that, she stormed off, leaving Jonathan standing there, very quiet. Toby, who was watching the whole thing, walked up to him, watching Kirsty go towards Janine's desk, talking to the older receptionist. Toby clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Dude, you just got told off...big time,"

Jonathan gave him a hard glare. Toby gulped and looked away, "Oh look, a trashcan!" he said shakily before moving away quickly.

"How are you holding up Janine?" Kirsty asked, watching Janine go through a small pile of paperwork.

"I'm...I'm fine, dear," Janine said, a tone in her voice and her eyes shining. Obviously, she was still very upset about what had just happened. Kirsty couldn't blame her for being this way, not one bit. The older woman cleared her throat and shoved the paperwork towards the new employee, "These are the information we have on the spirits that we know escaped. They're all a handful, they gave the guys problems even when they had a few years under their belts. Looks like you guys will have on the job training,"

Kirsty nodded, flipping through the papers, "Looks like it. Hehe," she chuckled a little, "I feel a bit like Jack Harkness, working with a company to protect the world,"

Janine stared at her.

"_Torchwood_,"

Stare.

"Spinoff of _Doctor Who_,"

Stare.

"...anyhoo," Kirsty looked at the papers, "These guys look like they mean business. Any idea where we can find them?"

"Well, two of them, I'm not so sure. The Scoleri Brothers, when the guys took them down, were at a courthouse and attacked the judge that was sentencing the boys at the time. Turns out the judge had sentenced the two brothers to be executed in the electric chair,"

"So you think they'll go after the judge?"

Janine shrugged, "It's been twenty years since then, kiddo, for all we know, the judge is dead and buried, so who the hell knows where they are,"

As the two women discussed the growing worksheet, Izzy walked to them, holding what appeared to be a tool of some sort. The tech nerd sighed, "Okay, ladies, I have good news and I have bad news,"

Janine groaned and rubbed the temples on her forehead, "Honey, I've had enough bad news for one day, just gimme the good news,"

"Alright," Izzy spun the tool around in his hand, like a gunslinger did his peacemaker in an old Western, "The good news is, the equipments still in good shape, so we're all good to go. Just give the word and we're out of here to catch some of the escapees,"

Kirsty smiled, "That's wonderful!" she exclaimed before the smile began to fade, "What's...the bad news?"

"The bad news is...," Izzy turned and pointed to the garage area, "We're missing one fanboy and one proton pack,"

"...shit...!"

-----

As fast as he could, Brian ran through the streets of New York City, wearing the heavy proton pack on his back. He wasn't much of a runner, he didn't like a whole lot of exercise, and the pack weighing down on him wasn't really helping him move that fast, but the adrenaline pumping through his body made him go a fair distance before he decided to stop and hail a taxi.

-----

"What the hell is that dumbass doing now?!"

"Peter, calm down,"

Venkman shook his head, "The hell I will, Dana!" he barked at his wife, "That little punk nearly killed off two good friends of ours, maybe more, and he just about brought the entire firehouse down! Not to mention the ghosts, we're all damn lucky that not all of them came flying out, because most if not all of those deadheads in there have it out for us!" he turned to Janine, "Where the hell is he?!"

Janine shook her head, "I don't know! I just found out that he was gone and took a pack with him!"

"Uh, guys?"

The three turned to see Toby walking up to them, holding a sheet of paper.

The new receptionist waved the paper around, "I found this on the floor with the other packs. It's a note,"

"Read it out, honey," Janine urged, "What's it say?"

Toby cleared his throat as the rest of the new blood came around, "It says **_'Guys, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for all of this to happen. All my life, I wanted to be a Ghostbuster, I wanted to help my heroes save the world. I'm so sorry that I screwed everything up on the first day, and I'll never forgive myself if something happens to Spengler and Stantz. Maybe I'm not cut out to be a Ghostbuster, I know some people are thinking the same thing about me, even out loud'_**...,"

Dana glanced at Peter while Kirsty glanced at Jonathan.

"...'**_and maybe they're right. Maybe I shouldn't take up a responsibility like this, I nearly killed everyone the second I put the pack on. I heard what ghosts escaped the grid because of me, and before I leave the company, I'll make up for all the chaos I've caused. I'll go and bring every one of those ghosts in, then you'll never see or hear from me ever again. Signed, Brian, the killer nerd'_**...,"

Everyone in the firehouse was quiet for a long moment.

Jonathan clicked his tongue, "Wow...,"

Kirsty shook her head and brushed past him roughly, "You're an ass, Jonathan!" she swore loudly as she approached the remaining packs and traps. Without another word, she grabbed the nearest pack and began to strap it to her back. Peter and Izzy were silent as they joined her, donning their own packs. Peter grabbed the last spare pack and walked back to Jonathan, shoving it into his arms, nearly knocking him over.

"Suit up, kid, we're going out,"

Once everyone was suited up, they headed towards Ecto-1a, knowing what they had to do.

"Janine, Toby, you two stay on the phones," Peter ordered as he pulled the keys out of his pocket, "You call Winston, tell him what's going on, then if you hear anything about anything, you let us know on the radio, got it?!"

Miss Melnitz gave a mock salute, "Aye aye, cap'n,"

Toby nodded and gave a thumbs up, "Got it, boss!"

Peter swung the driver's side door open and was about to get in when he noticed that the recruits were still standing outside the vehicle, as if they were waiting for something. He sighed, "Guys, we're gonna find him before he gets himself killed, I promise. I'm an expert with this, so don't worry about what to do, and we know where most of these spooks are or are gonna be, so it won't take us that long,"

Kirsty shook her head a little, "But we have no idea where Brian's going!"

"Well, we're just gonna have to keep looking around until we do, alright?" Peter reasoned, "Get in the car, let's roll!"

No one moved for the interior of the vehicle.

"What now?!" Peter cried, growing impatient, "Why aren't you guys going in?!"

Izzy cleared his throat and raised a hand, "Shouldn't we take off our packs and put them in the back before we get in?" he asked slowly, "I mean, these things on our backs are kinda big, I don't think we'd all fit in the car as we do now...,"

Peter slapped himself in the face, "Sonofa-!"

* * *

**Kilnorc: This came out of nowhere, hehe. Hope you guys liked the chapter, and I hope they can find their missing comrade before anything worse happens! I wonder where he's headed first?**


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